Whether it's peacetime or wartime, it's always important to teach students that Veterans Day means more than just a day off from school.  Patriotism is a value that must be taught and modeled for students.  By taking time to give honor and patriotism even deeper meaning in a classroom around national holidays, we will build the foundation for young students to be proud and contributing citizens of our country.

TARGET AUDIENCE
Students in 5th through 12th grades.  Students who have a prior knowledge of the events and outcomes of the wars will benefit the most from these activities and the videoconference.

SUBJECTS
History (including students' own family histories); language arts; civics; geography; and social responsibility.

FORMAT
Each videoconference session will feature interviews with a panel of local veterans with a variety of experiences in each war. During this 45 minute videoconference session, 20 minutes will be allocated for student questions.

OBJECTIVES
Students will:

• use their reading skills to identify main ideas and accurately record information from numerous Internet resources
• develop content-rich notes to use for their writing questions assignment
• learn about United States war involvement from 1918 until now
• understand that the first-person accounts from these veterans will illuminate the long-ago and often forgotten wars
• acknowledge that veterans deserve recognition and honor for their military service

NATIONAL STANDARDS

This lesson plan may be used to address the following academic standards. These standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 2nd Edition.

 
Grade level: 5-12
Subject area: U.S. history

Standards:

• The causes and course of World War II, the character of the war at home and abroad, and its reshaping of the U.S. role in world affairs
• Understands how the Cold War and conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq influenced domestic and international politics
• Review the timeline of U.S. involvement from World War II to Korea to  Vietnam and Iraq
• Explain conditions and motivations that contribute to conflict, cooperation and interdependence among groups, societies and nations.

Benchmarks: 

• Understands factors that contributed to the development of World War II, Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and Iraqi War
• Understands the political elements of the Vietnam War (e.g., the constitutional issues involved in the Vietnam War, the legacy of the war)

 

Subject area: World history

Standards:

• The causes and global consequences of World War II, Korean War, Vietnam war, and Iraqi war 
• Post-World War II reconstruction, new international power relations, and breaking up of colonial empires
• The search for community, stability and peace in an interdependent world
• What is the relationship of the United States to other nations and to world affairs?
•  Evaluate, take, and defend positions on United States foreign policy issues in light of American national interests, values, and principles.
•  Analyze the relationships and tensions between national sovereignty and global interests, in matters such as territory, economic development, nuclear and other weapons, use of natural resources, and human rights concerns.

Benchmarks:
       

• Understands the impact of relations during World War II through Iraq,  and the impact of the wars on art, literature, and popular culture
• Understands factors that influenced political conditions after World War II and leading up to Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq
• Understands how specific countries have implemented social and cultural changes

 

Subject area: Language Arts

1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; and to respond to the needs and demands of society.

2 - Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.

4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

7 - Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.

8 - Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

VOCABULARY

• fleet - a group of naval ships under one command or grouped for one purpose. 
• guard -  to protect from danger or harm.
• honor  - to have high regard or esteem for; respect.
• infantry -  foot soldiers, or the branch of the military to which they belong. 
• armed  - holding or bearing weapons.
• army  - the military land force of a nation.
• memorial -  a ceremony, custom, or public structure to honor a dead person or past event.
• navy  - the part of a nation's military organization that is concerned with warfare on or over the sea.
• troop -  to assemble or join together in a crowd.
• veteran  - a person who was formerly part of the armed forces, esp. during a war.
• bravery  - the quality or condition of being brave; fearlessness; courage.
• cavalry - troops mounted on horseback or in armored carriers or helicopters, or the branch of military service composed of such troops.
• commando - a small, specially trained military unit used for surprise assaults on enemy-held territory.
• commemoration - a ceremony to honor the memory of a person or event.
• courage  - the quality of will that enables a person to confront fear or danger regardless of the consequences; bravery:

PRE-ACTIVITIES
The pre-activities should be completed before the scheduled videoconference.
1) Ask the students what they think Veteran's Day is for. Why is it important? What does the word “veteran” mean?

2) Inquire if any students have any relatives or acquaintances that are veterans. Have they heard any first-person stories about wartime?

3) The teacher should read "In Flanders Fields" (one of the most memorable war poems ever written) and discuss its significance with the students.

 

In Flanders Fields
written by: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD

In FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

4) Students and teacher will create a time line of the wars with United States involvement starting with World War I through the current Iraqi war.

5) Students will divide into small groups of no more than four students.  The teacher will assign one of the wars for each group to research using multiple Internet resources.  Students will take notes on main ideas and topics.

• Each group will then brainstorm and list at least ten ideas or topics that affected veterans during and after the war.

 

• Each group will then use their list to generate questions to be asked to a veteran from each war during the videoconference.

Possible Question Starters to ask during videoconference:

• Why do you think. . . .
• Describe. . . .
• Would you explain. . . .
• Where did you. . .
• Where do you. . . .
• How many. . . .
• What are. . . .
• How did you feel. . . . .
• What was your reaction. . . .
• How would you. . . .
• How come. . . .

 

• Questions will be submitted to teacher.  Teacher should make sure the questions cover a variety of topics.        

6) Class will “role play” or simulate interview and question session for practice.

• Encourage students to speak slowly and clearly. Students should come to a microphone to ask their questions and be patient and polite.

 

• Have students begin their questions by introducing themselves. An example would be, "Hello Mr._______.  My name is ______. My question is _____.  After the question is answered, the student should say, "Thank you sir (or ma’am)."  

 

• Encourage students to listen carefully to the questions from other classes that will participate in the videoconference so that questions are not repeated.

 

CLASS DISCUSSION
Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military. . . both in wartime and peacetime. Veterans Day is especially intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that ALL those who served. .  not only those who died. . . .  have sacrificed and done their duty.

World War I was called “the War to end all wars,” but in 1939, World War II broke out in Europe and shattered that dream.  Korea, Vietnam, and Beyond (Desert Storm, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq) have all followed. 

This videoconference will feature interviews with a panel of local veterans with a variety of experiences in each war.  During this 45 minute videoconference session, at least 20 minutes will be allocated for student questions.

This lesson supports sixth -through twelfth-grade students' exploration of multiple Internet resources to gather and synthesize information, and to create and communicate this information through questioning to veterans during a videoconference session.  Additionally, the activities requires students to acquire new knowledge and to expand upon their understanding of themselves and the United States. Students are encouraged to participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of their classroom community.

LESSON:
HISTORY of VETERANS DAY:
The celebrated ending of World War I hostilities occurred at 11 AM on November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month).  In 1921, memorial gestures in the United States, England, and France all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to this “Armistice Day.”

An American soldier—his name “known but to God”—was buried on a Virginia hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, DC. The burial site of this unknown World War I soldier in Arlington National Cemetery symbolized dignity and reverence for America’s veterans.

Similar ceremonies occurred in England and France, where an “unknown soldier” of the World War I was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe).

In 1954, November 11 was changed from Armistice Day to Veterans Day, to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military. . . both in wartime and peacetime. The Veterans Day National Ceremony is held each year on November 11 at Arlington National Cemetery at 11 AM.

POST-ACTIVITIES

• ALL students should write some thank you letters to send to these veterans for sharing their stories with the students.

• As an extended writing exercise, students should write an essay of their own personal response to hearing stories and accounts from these veterans

Students should write a fictional personal narrative from the point of view of an 18- 20 year old in one of these wars. 

 

 

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